


louder than words

by imaderice



Series: Moving On [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, Slow Burn, i just like a single mom au, idk - Freeform, past strawbanana, rating might change in the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-02-23 09:40:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23942794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaderice/pseuds/imaderice
Summary: Ruby Rose is a single mom raising her four year old son, Ming. Her life basically revolves around him that she's oblivious of the fact that a certain business woman had taking an interest in her.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Series: Moving On [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1732891
Comments: 109
Kudos: 273





	1. beginning

**Author's Note:**

> single mom au is life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art was made by me :)

Ruby felt like she was melting, in fact, she would not be surprised if what she felt dripping down her face and neck wasn't sweat was her entire being starting to liquify. The heat was unbearable, but what else was she supposed to do other than soldier through the unbearable temperature, it wasn't as hot as the days in Vacuo, having spent many vacations in the past. Although, unlike the Vacuan natives, she was not accustomed to the heat.

The best she could do was let the door of the diner wide open, held in place by a wooden wedge, and a quick run at the nearby electronics store to purchase a few fans scattered around the establishment. Small as they were, it was enough to cover most of the area with a gentle breeze and have proper air circulation. 

"Ruby, where's my pancakes?" 

"It's almost done, miss Calavera," Ruby says, grabbing the pitcher of water from the tray she held and refilled the old woman's glass. 

"What's taking so long?" She asks a scowl marring her features as she adjusted her large thick glasses. 

"It's only been five minutes," Ruby simply smiled at their loyal customer. 

"Has it?" She says, squinting at her wristwatch. Her features relaxed and her frown slowly turned into a smile. "So it has! And I told you to call me Maria!"

Ruby likes Miss Calavera, she likes to give generous tips and would insist that Ruby sit with her during her breaks and would even share her meals. At first, Ruby had declined her offers and in turn Maria didn't push her, but at some point the small Hispanic woman had enough and dragged her over to her booth near the window, forgetting the fact or maybe she just didn't care that Ruby didn't understand a lick of Spanish. 

"The hag is getting more and more delusional every day," A voice spoke a few tables away. 

"And you still have that stick up your heinie, colonel blimp!" 

"Why you-"

The two quickly engaged in a shouting match, Ruby couldn't help but smile at the interaction between the two. Cordovin had recently come into retirement from the military and had been adjusting to civilian life here in Vale. Ruby could remember her arrival a few months ago, how when the two saw each other a fight broke out. Ruby was still finding pieces of cashew nuts from time to time since then. 

A bell rang through the establishment, followed by a call of her name.

"Coming, Ren!"

Ruby left the two bickering women and made her way towards the service counter, filling up the tray in her hands with three plates of food while she held the fourth one in her free hand. She passed by Cordovin, who crossed her arms huffing indignantly towards Maria who had gone silent when a plate of pancakes was placed in front of her. Without another word, Ruby continued on working diligently. 

It was a fairly slow morning for them, one that Ruby cherished until the lunch rush. Factory workers and those with minimum wage jobs came pouring into the diner quarter to noon. The diner, despite the few fans bringing in more air circulation, was starting to feel like an oven. She can't imagine what the kitchen is like, so she shouldn't complain. A sigh passed her lips as the cool breeze from the fan hit her skin, however brief it was. 

A can of sardines. 

That's what she describes the diner's current situation. A common occurrence, that Cordovin and Maria shared a table without complaint as the latter began shuffling a deck of cards. For a brief moment, Ruby wondered what card game they were going to play this time. 

The cacophony of silverware on plates, the chatter among the crowd were all Ruby could hear, if she strained her ears she could barely hear the radio playing a new pop song trending. 

Slowly the numbers dwindled and she's able to catch her breath, leaning against the counter to collect the dishes. Silver eyes glanced towards the comically large jar near the cash register, not overly surprised to see it didn't even fill up half-way. Ruby can't blame them, she knew the struggles of finances, she knew that they couldn't afford to spare more than a few lien. She was lucky that her boss was even kind enough to provide free meals during her shift.

"Thank god, that's over," Nora groans, plopping down onto the counter without care and takes a deep breath to blow her orange bangs away from eyes, it's futile as it falls back into place. "I hate rush hour."

"Can't imagine how you were able to handle it before I came around," Ruby chuckles, taking a seat beside her. 

The sound of the bell from the entrance caught their attention as two women entered the diner. One had white hair and wore black slacks with a light blue blouse and was considerably shorter than the redhead beside her that wore a dark grey pencil skirt with a red button-up shirt. The pair spared them no mind as they made their way to a booth at the far end of the diner. 

Silver met baby blue, a second passed, a heartbeat, the sound of Cordovin cursing out a laughing Maria in the background. In a flash, both women slammed their hands over an open palm. Ruby groans curse under her breath as Nora wraps her hand over her closed fist, shouting in victory. 

"Odin is with me!" 

"You're atheist," 

"Valhalla!" 

Ruby laughs and Nora shoves a notepad and pen in her hands. She swears Nora cheats most of the time or she was too much of a sore loser to accept defeat at always losing to a simple game of chance of rock, paper, scissors. It didn't matter for the moment, she had a job to do. 

"Welcome to Flower Power Diner, what can I get for you two?" 

The redhead didn't look too long at the menu in her hands. She ordered a vanilla milkshake and a simple burger and instead of fries, she opted for potato wedges with ranch dip. Ruby quickly took note of her choice, asking if she would prefer to have her drink given along with her meal or before. 

"I'll have it along with my meal, thank you, Ruby," She says and places the menu to the side. Sometimes Ruby forgets that she has her name for all to see pinned to her uniform. "What about you, Weiss?" 

Weiss hums in thought, her eyes scanning the menu. Ruby could tell from a glance that she was the type to go for a fancier establishment, a restaurant with overpriced items and small portions. So it surprised her that Weiss chose the buffalo wings.

"And your drink, ma'am?" 

"Just water," 

Ruby nods, repeat their order to them for clarification, awkwardly laughs as she stumbles over a word. The bell rings, signaling another customer but Ruby focuses on the ones she was currently serving, knowing Nora would accommodate the new arrivals but something, or more specifically, someone clutches her pant leg and she doesn't have to look to know who it was. Weiss and the red-haired girl looked down at the small child with dark brown hair clinging onto their waitress. 

"I'll have your orders soon," Ruby says as she rips the page of the notepad and bent down to carry the small child with one arm, his black tail instinctively wrapped around the arm that held him. "Say bye to the nice ladies, Ming."

The young boy waves at them, face slightly hidden in Ruby's neck, clearly shy but still went through with the command. The two women instantly melted at the sight of such a polite and adorable child. 

Ruby walks back towards Nora who was animatedly talking to a blonde woman. She hands Ren the paper, at the sight of Ming he smiles softly at him. Nora ruffles Ming's hair and his shoulders shook and smile wide with a soundless giggle. Nora hands him a chocolate chip cookie and Ming holds up his hand close to his face, palm open then moves it away almost like a simple wave.

"It's not even four-thirty yet, moon pie," Ruby says and places him down on a seat beside his aunt. "You should be at daycare."

"In my time, there was no such thing as a daycare," Maria pipes up from her seat, rearranging the cards in her hands. 

"Maria, in your time, horses were still used to travel," Yang retorts.

Nora snorts. Maria shakes her head and scoffs.

"Yang!" Ruby slaps the blonde's shoulder and fails to stop herself from smiling. She turns to Ming. "Why aren't you at daycare, sweetie?" 

Ming closes his fists and brings them together, then points at Ruby, drags his thumb along his jaw, and kisses the back of his hand.

"I want to be with you, mom," He signs.


	2. origami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss surprises Ruby of her unexpected friendship with her son.

Ruby had a lot on her plate. It's both figuratively and literally as the tray in her hands were with small plastic baskets filled with chicken nuggets and fries all stacked together with a pitcher of iced tea in her other hand. 

The diner filled to the brim with people, all dressed in baseball uniforms that have been stained with dirt and grass. Ruby and Nora are trying their best to serve an entire team of high schoolers while also making sure they didn't make too much ruckus. It didn't help that some of them were challenging Nora to an arm wrestling competition, but thankfully she informs them that she's still on the job. She did promise she'd beat them if they're still there after her shift ends. 

"Hey, Ming!" A boy with black hair and hazel eyes calls out. "Come here I have something to show you." 

Ruby pauses and looks down at the young child standing by her leg. One hand holding the hem of her pink polo shirt and the other scratching his cheek, a nervous tic that Ruby was trying to get rid off to no avail.

"Go on, kiddo," Ruby says softly. 

Ming looks up at her, biting his lower lip, thinks it over then nods slowly. He made his way to the booth Oscar sat, one of the boys he was with picks up Ming once he was close enough and places the Ming on his lap. Satisfied that Ming would be preoccupied for the moment, she goes back to work. When she was sure that all of the boys were given food, she went around making sure their glasses were refilled.

Another concern Ruby had, other than the influx of customers on a Saturday afternoon was that Ming was starting preschool soon. Don't get her wrong, she knows her son is well-behaved and wouldn't cause trouble, it was just that he doesn't seem to like the thought of being away from her for more than half a day. He would try to stay for the whole day for a week, but after that he'd find ways to get back to her. Ruby wanted him to have more friends his age, not just hanging out with people who are several times his age at the diner. If he had stayed long enough at daycare she had hoped he'd make a friend or two that would make him stay there for a whole day. Doesn't help that his aunt, Yang, can't seem to resist Ming when he calls. 

"You seem bothered by something," 

Speak of the devil. 

"He's starting preschool next month," Ruby hands Yang a bottle of sunflower pop. 

Yang hums thoughtfully, takes a sip of the carbonated drink as her eyes land on the group of boys entertaining the four year old. They were showing Ming their collection of baseball cards, one of them even gave him a baseball to hold on to. It was too big for the little guy that he wasn't able to hold on to it with one hand. 

"She wouldn't be worried too much about it if someone didn't give in to the puppy dog eyes," Blake says beside Yang, her eyes never leaving the papers she was grading. "Ruby got him a scroll to video call for when of emergencies, not for you to take him out of daycare when he wants to."

"He looks so much like Ruby when she was at that age! Those eyes were weaponized and now it's being manufactured!" Yang throws her hands up in the air as Ruby rolls her eyes at her. "Well he looks like Sun, but he also has your hair and eyes so he also looks like you." 

"He's got a bit of Sun in his eyes too," Ruby points out with a sad smile. "If I look close enough and depending on the lighting, I would see some blue specks in his eyes."

The sound of a new arrival had caught Ruby's attention and welcomed them cheerfully. It was the white-haired woman from before, Weiss, from what she can recall. She had paused in the doorway, noticing the abundance of teenage boys than usual and Ruby thinks she would turn back and look for another place to eat like the earlier ones had before her. Surprisingly, Weiss sat down at the counter. 

"Since when does Weiss Schnee eat at diners?" Blake asks, one eyebrow raised.

"I don't know," Ruby shrugs, hugging the tray to her chest. "She was with a girl with red hair, I think her name was Pyrrha or something, a few weeks back. Since then she comes here like once or twice a week." 

Weiss Schnee, from what she knew from Nora, was currently rebuilding the Schnee Industries after her father was imprisoned for his questionable business practices and had gone bankrupt. They had thousands of branches all over remnant and now they have only a few in Atlas and was currently trying to open one in Vale. 

Weiss was a peculiar person for Ruby. She'd never thought that she would see someone eat buffalo wings the way she had. Of course, judging from the way she had carried herself and the way she talked to her friend, Ruby thought she would have eaten them with a fork and knife. Surprisingly, she had used her hands and it amazed Ruby that she hardly made a mess as she ate, it even looked organized. Weiss would pick up a piece, breaking off the joints on each end and pulling out the bones from within. After taking a bite, Weiss wipes her mouth of the sauce with a napkin, even when there wasn't any. 

They hadn't stayed long, but Ruby figured Weiss liked the food and service because she came back a week later and has been consistently doing so since then

"Hey Rubes, I'm gonna go on break!" Nora shouts, the sheer volume of her voice makes Weiss jump in her seat. 

Blake glances at Weiss' direction and shares a look with Yang and Ruby knows that look. It's a look that a married couple would do, one in which they seem to communicate without saying a word to one another. She didn't have the opportunity to ask what was wrong as she needed to go back to work. 

"Nora, you'll give her a heart attack at this rate,"Ruby sighs going behind the counter. 

"Whoopsies," Nora giggles as she disappears into the kitchen. 

"I'm sorry about that, Weiss," Ruby gives her a small smile.

"It's fine, I'll have a chicken salad today and coffee," Weiss mumbles that Ruby almost didn't hear her and looks down at her phone.

"Coming right up," Ruby says, writing it down on her notepad and clipping it up on the queue line. 

Ruby bends down under the counter to grab a coffee mug, humming along to the radio. She hands Weiss the steaming hot cup of joe and pulls out a rag from her apron, wiping down the counter. It was already clean, most likely by Nora, but Ruby didn't have anything much to do and didn't like being too idle.

The sound of glass shattering made Ruby jump and the booth at the far end of the diner were two boys fighting over the table. Those that were near them tried to break up the fight while the others stood back and watched. Ming jumps down from the booth he was in and runs towards Weiss, pushing through the growing crowd of high schoolers. 

Shouting ensues, the rest of the team struggling to pull the two boys fighting apart that a few had been hit by a stray punch. Some had moved their plates and glasses far from the scuffle to avoid anymore damages. Ruby couldn't see who was fighting, she was just glad that Oscar and his friends were far from the scuffle. There were a lot of new faces that Ruby hasn't got the time the opportunity to get to know them.

Ruby got over the shock of what happened, went to grab the broom and dustpan just as Nora came tumbling out from the kitchen with Ren in tow.

"ENOUGH!" 

Everyone parted ways as Yang stomps over to the two, who were the only ones who didn't seem to have heard her shout. Yang grabs the two of them by the scruff of their necks and pulls them apart without trouble. Although it wasn't enough as one of them, the one with dark orange hair was still hell bent on getting to the one with dark skin and blonde hair.

"Break it up you two or I swear to the Brothers you'll be benched for the rest of season," Yang shakes them once.

"Sorry, coach," They say at the same time, one with his head bowed and the other crosses his arms with a huff. 

"Jay," Yang narrows her eyes at the boy with his arms crossed. "I don't care that your dad's Cardin, I'll kick you out of the team, in fact I'll kick your ass to the moon. It's one thing starting fights in the field, but out here? Really?" 

"Samson," The boy flinched at his name being called, his left hand gripping his right elbow. "I expected better from you. I'm sorry but I'm going to talk to your moms about this."

With the mention of his mom's Samson was about to object, his green eyes wide with fear. A single look from Yang was all it took for him to shut his mouth before he could even protest.

Ruby gently pushed through the group, mumbling a soft excuse when she had to motion for them to get away from the glass shards. Yang drags both boys towards Ren, grabbing both of their heads and forces them to slightly bow, something she vaguely remembers her father doing the same to them when they had caused trouble for someone else. Oscar grabs a few tissues and helps Ruby by picking up the big pieces and wrapping them in tissue to avoid getting hurt.

"Where's Ming?" Nora asks, her head swivelling from left to right looking for him.

Ruby looks to Blake, where she assumed Ming had run to when the fight broke out, but the Faunus shook her head from her seat, also looking around. 

"He's over there," One of the boys says, pointing at Weiss. 

Ruby is in disbelief at what she's seeing. Ming sat on a stool beside Weiss, excitedly talking to her while Weiss nods her head at him. She makes a couple of gestures with her hands, slow and unsure clearly not at all fluent at sign language, but it doesn't deter Ming at all as he replies excitedly at her. 

She wasn't the only one surprised by this scene. Blake and Nora had the same expression as she had. Ming was very shy, especially to strangers. It had taken him a couple of months to warm up to Blake, and with Nora it was a few weeks, her childlike demeanor helped her bond with Ming. Seeing him interact, much less talk to someone who he has barely knew was a complete shock to everyone.

Ming catches Ruby's stare and smiles with his teeth, he waved at her, a piece of paper held in his tail.

"She folds papers and makes them into animals!" His hands moved rapidly, bouncing in his seat then he points at his tail.

Looking closely, Ruby sees that the piece of paper in his tail was a swan. Ming points at the other origami pieces that Weiss had made on the counter, a frog and what looked like a giraffe. Ming turns back to Weiss, asking if she could teach him. 

"Of course," Weiss says aloud and Ming throws his hands up into the air, almost falling back off of the stool. 

Weiss panics for a moment, reaching out to grab him, scared that he would fall, but he leans closer to Weiss before he could. Smiling so wide that the gap in his teeth, where his first baby tooth fell was visible.

"Don't bother her too much, okay, Ming?" Ruby finally says and he nods vigorously at her. 

He holds up his left hand, placing his other hand over his heart. "Promise." 

Weiss turns in her seat and Ruby gives her a grateful smile before going back to cleaning up the glass shards. Oscar had gotten most of the large pieces, her only concern now were the small ones that couldn't be picked up by hand.

With her focus now on cleaning, Ruby doesn't see the blush on Weiss' cheeks, doesn't see how she avoids Nora and Blake's stares. One was of clear amusement, her smile mischievous, almost devious while the other shone with hidden mirth in her amber eyes, a small knowing grin on her features.


	3. bargain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ming doesn't want to go to school. Ruby has a plan, but she isn't happy with it...not at first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was watching a baseball movie. I love baseball. So enjoy this chapter lmfao.

Ruby thinks she's doing a great job of raising Ming. He's polite, doesn't cause too much trouble for others, and most importantly, he's kind to anyone he meets. She's raising him just as how Yang and her father raised her. She never raised her voice at him, never raised a hand at him, comforts him when he makes mistakes, stern when disciplining him. He does what he's told and doesn't complain. Although his Xiao Long genes run true and strong as he crosses his arms, pouting as he glares out at the window. 

It was at that moment, that she realized how similar her son is to her. She remembers her own stubbornness as a child, the exasperated looks Yang had whenever she didn't want to take a nap or eat her vegetables, the tired sigh of her father when she wanted something and was hell-bent on getting it. The Xiao Longs were taught to never fear failure, instead they fear of not trying at all and when they try, they never go half assed. They were a lot of things and stubborn, was a quality in every family member to date.

"Ming, please," Ruby pinches the bridge of her nose, as she turns back to address her son. "You have to go. If I could teach you myself I would, but I can't and the law demands that you go to school." 

He lowers his head, his lower lip trembles. Ruby wouldn't fall for his tricks, she's raised him, she knows when he was genuinely upset and this one isn't one of those instances. It was an act, something he uses against his aunt and godfather to bend them to his will. Unfortunately for him, Ruby was immune to such tactics. 

She had dreaded this day for months now. She knew what she was getting into, she just didn't expect the level of persistence Ming would have of not attending preschool. He has expressed his displeasure about it ever since she brought it up to him over dinner two weeks ago. He didn't throw a tantrum, didn't complain too much, but gradually he stood firm on his insistence of not attending school at all. 

"Okay, let's make a deal," Ming looks up at her, curiosity clear in his silver eyes, not sure what Ruby could ever hold against him to attend school. "I'll let you join the little league."

"Really?!" He says, his jaw dropped. Blinking several times, his hands began to move again. "Can I join Aunt Ya-" 

"Hold up there, kiddo," Ruby holds up her hand to cut him off from his questions. "This is going to be a deal, so you're not joining anyone's team if you don't hold up your end of the bargain, which is to attend school and actually stay until it ends." 

Ming huffs, crossing his arms yet again as he leans back against the car seat. His eyes landing onto the brightly colored building they parked in front of. Children from ages three to five were walking into the premises, some in groups, others being carried by their parents to the front door. Ruby sees the kids with cute backpacks that were designed as an animal or had famous cartoon characters on them. She spares a glance at the plain Prussian blue backpack she had bought for Ming from the day before, wishing she could afford those types of bags and not the cheap knock offs that doesn't hold out in a few months either. She'd be spending more money replacing those than buying an authentic one. 

"You go to school and I'll make sure you'll be in Yang's team," Ruby says and Ming's resolve wavers. 

Ming brings up a fist to his chin and pulls it back as he opens his hand. "Fine." 

It wasn't necessarily a win for Ruby, but she had no other choice. At least, this way, there was a chance that Ming would make a friend his age and social services won't be on her ass. 

Ming grabs his bag as he opens the car door and Ruby hands him a small white board, a marker tied on its side. Sadly, she couldn't afford a place that could be able to better accommodate Ming's inability to speak. The best she could do was find one that was willing to accept him and had zero bullying tolerance near her workplace and the nearest she could find was half an hour away. Which meant they had to wake up earlier than usual just for her to be at work on time. 

"Hey, moonpie," Ruby calls out. Ming looks back at her, scratching his cheek and she smiles at him. "Have fun at school. I love you." 

"I love you too, mom," He says before wearing a familiar baseball cap, worn out and too large for his head, but it gives him comfort and Ruby lets him bring it to school. 

-x-

Ruby was starting to regret the deal she made with her son as she sat on the bleachers of a baseball field with a few people accompanying her. She wasn't one to be protective, in fact, she is very lenient with what Ming can and can't do. It was just that the expenses ripped a hole through her wallet, thankfully the shirt and hat were provided by the little league, the only thing she had to worry about were the glove, pants and cleats. 

Yang was generous enough to give Ming an old glove that was left by a kid who only played for a year and provided the pants for Ruby. The cleats though, was something that gave a major blow to her finances. As much as she wants to spend as little money as possible, she did not want Ming to get injured from his cleats breaking during practice or a game. Thankfully enough Yang had directed her to a place she would buy cheap reliable ones, but it still made a large dent on her finances.

It wasn't that hard to ensure that Ming would be placed in Yang's team and Ruby was sure as hell wasn't going to let her son join a team if she didn't know the coach. Even with her son joining Yang's team, she's still nervous as she watches them play some sort of improvised tag with plastic balls. 

Ren, bless his heart, has agreed to let her clock out early for two weeks to watch Ming's practices. Any other boss would have deducted her pay or outright refuse to even consider such a thing, but Ren didn't even need further explanation and gave her permission, without deducting her pay too. Nora nearly hit her with a spoon when she tried to convince them not to give her her regular payment. 

Nora can be very persuasive with a wooden spoon. 

For now, Ruby picks up Ming from school and brings him to practice and for a week they did nothing more than play ball tag, have the kids throw balls at the fence and run around the bases. By the second week, the first half of practice was just like the week before. It starts off with tag, they have the kids form a circle in the middle of the field as Yang demonstrates the proper way of holding and throwing a baseball. Most kids at this point weren't listening by this point, but Ming still had all his attention on Yang. The only difference was that there were hula hoops tied to the fence and the kids have to throw the balls through the hoops. 

"Having fun, kiddo?" Ruby asks when they were on break. 

Ming nods, smiling wide at her. He began telling her how he couldn't wait to swing an actual bat and do a home run while she busy herself with wiping the sweat from his face and back with a towel. She hands him a bottle of water and half of an egg sandwich as he sits down beside her, happily munching away on his snack. 

Once their break was over and he ran back towards the field. Ruby couldn't help but let out a sad sigh, cupping her face with her hand, elbow on her knee. As much as she loves seeing her little boy happy and having fun, she wished he had made at least one friend on the team or even at school. So far, he hasn't been able to make a single one even as a week has gone by and she wasn't sure if it was because of his disability or the lack of trying on his part. 

Yang and two of her assistant coaches, one of which was Oscar, were now teaching the kids how to swing a bat without actually holding a bat. After almost fifteen minutes of only dry swings Yang had Oscar set up a cylindrical stand and place a ball at the top and calls Ming over to the tee, handing him a bat. 

The rest of the team continues to swing imaginary bats as Yang instructs Ming at the tee, giving him a few practice swings with an actual bat before letting him take position. Ruby watches as he spreads his feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent and holding the bat high. For a moment she thought she was looking at Sun and she could feel her heart jump into her throat. She blinks as the back of her eyes burned, she shakes her head and pulls out her phone to take a video of Ming's first try at hitting a ball. 

Unsurprisingly, when he swung the bat, it had hit the tee and not the ball and the stand topples over. Ming's shoulders fell and Yang pats his back, bending down slightly to talk to him with an encouraging smile. The next swing was too high and only grazed the top of the ball and fell off the tee. The third, however he had managed to hit, but didn't go too far. By the fourth try, he was able to hit the ball past second base. 

The way Ming drops the bat and throws his fists up in the air and jumps in silent victory made Ruby glad she had let him join. As much as it had poked at old wounds, she couldn't deny how happy Ming looks as he runs back to the group of children and Yang calls another kid up to the tee.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I upload inconsistently. I'll either have the fourth chapter up tomorrow, in a couple of days or next week.


	4. parallel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What's wrong with Ming?" She asks, brows furrowed and she placed down her coffee. 
> 
> "What? How'd you know?" Ruby reels back her head slightly in surprise, trying to think back if she said anything without her knowing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this got longer than i expected

Things were going great for Ruby, after she had gone back to her regular routine, with a few adjustments to accommodate Ming's new school life and scheduled practices. After school though, Yang and or Blake would pick him up instead of Ruby while she worked. They would stop by the diner to pick up his snacks for him and it was a welcomed routine for her because that meant she knew who was on their way to get Ming from preschool. 

A month has gone by without any problem, Ming hasn't tried to get out of preschool, he seemed more excited for the day than he usually was and by the time he gets home during dinner and when getting ready for bed, he's a lot more talkative. Relaying to her about practice and how he had managed to get a home run. 

"I'm so proud of you, sweetie," Ruby says with as much adoration she could, scrubbing Ming's back with a plastic loofah. "Maybe you'll have your first home run in your game this Saturday?" 

Mentioning the upcoming game, Ming had gone still, his tail that was simply swished about in the water had frozen on the spot. Ruby doesn’t push, always leaving him the choice to come to her for his problems. She wanted to give him time to adjust to this new chapter in their lives and doesn’t want to be overbearing, but the look on his face, she didn’t like it one bit.

"Ming?" She lowered the loofah, letting it float on the bubbly water. "What's wrong, honey?" 

He reached up to scratch his cheek, but before he could Ruby had taken his hand in hers. She narrows her eyes at him, one that did not hold any malice whatsoever, but it was one that made him lower his hands back into the water, pouting. 

"I'm not playing," Ming says after a while of silence. 

Ripples spread throughout the once still water and Ming picked up the loofah with his tail, but fell, still not able to have a good grip on most things with it. 

"Why not?" Ruby picks up the loofah.

"Because I'm not good enough and I will never be," 

It hurt her, knowing that her son would ever think of himself that way. That he would admit such a thing with a look of resignation and acceptance. Ruby wasn't having any of it. 

"You're right," Ruby lets out a sigh, going back to scrubbing the dirt off his body, careful of the scrapes and cuts on his knees and elbows. "You're not good enough." 

Ming lowers his head, biting his lower lip, eyes filled to the brim with tears. She probably should have worded that better, she internally curses at herself, but what's done is done.

"And neither was your dad." 

It’s not that Ruby doesn’t talk about his father a lot, she tells Ming about him as much as she could because she knew how it felt like to grow up not knowing a parent. She knew how it felt when all she had of that parent was a photo and stories from her family. She knew how it felt that the only way of knowing her mother was through the eyes of everyone around her and how they saw and knew her. She never got the opportunity to know her herself and sadly, neither would her son. It’s like a horrible parallel. A daughter without a mother, a son without a father. But one thing Ming does have is an understanding mother who can empathise with him.

“Your dad was horrible at baseball,” Ruby continues with a scrub behind his ears, not waiting for a response from him. “I grew up with your dad, met him during elementary school. Your aunt Yang would give him a run for his money when they played any sport.” 

Ruby grabs the detachable shower head, running it over his body. He raises his arms without complaint as she raises it over the water. She helps him stand, making sure that he doesn’t slip and rinsed the rest of his body. 

“Baseball was the only sport he was able to have equal standing with your aunt,” She says then chuckles softly a moment after. “He was still bad at it but he got the spirit, like every other sport Yang bested him at.” 

Ruby lifts him up from underneath his armpits, not at all concerned as the water drenched her shorts and places him beside the bathtub. She grabs a grey towel from the hook and wraps it around him, drying his hair with it. Ruby peppers his face with kisses and he giggles, pushing her away playfully. She lifts him up, one arm under his buttocks, mindful of his tail and one around his torso and he wraps his arms around her neck. She feels something wet wrap around her arm as well.

“Your dad was bad at first; he throws the ball too high or too hard, when he swings the bat sometimes it would slip from his hands, he wouldn't be able to catch the ball when they're too high up,” Ruby lowers him down once they reach his room, and pulls out his pyjamas from the dresser. “He was bad, but he got better and he didn’t let the thought of being bad get him down, because he knew with enough hard work, with enough effort, he will be better than he was before.”

Ming takes his clothes, putting them on by himself. He looks up at her mom as he lets his pyjama top unbuttoned, something she has been convinced was a Wukong thing rather than him copying his father. Nonetheless she kneels down to kiss his forehead and lead him to his bed. 

"Look at him now, a baseball card of his own," Ruby says as she tucks him in. "One of Vale's favorite batters, not because he was good, but because he was one of the most hardworking players on the team." 

"Aunt Yang says that he was popular because of his looks," He says, brushing his bangs from his eyes. 

"That too," She laughs, handing him his favorite pillow, shaped like a star. "You can be as great as you can be, kiddo. It just takes a lot of work and I promise you, in the end, it's gonna be worth it." 

"Thanks, mom," Ming settles underneath the covers, hugging the star close to his chest. He loosen his hold and raised one hand, spelling something out. "I love you." 

"I love you too," Ruby leans in close to rub their noses together. "Get some sleep."

"Sing to me?" He asks, still using one hand and just spelling it out to her. 

"Sure, moonpie,"

  
  


-x-

The following day Ruby was a bit distracted during work. She had called Yang after a bath and a new change of clothes, asking why he wasn't going to play in the upcoming match. 

Yang had explained to her that he was going to play, or more importantly, supposedly was to play as part of the starting lineup. Yang even commented how Ming was even better than his dad when he started off with baseball and that's saying something because Ming's started earlier. But once the starters were announced, he had suddenly come up to her and asked for one of the kids to take his place in the lineup. Yang was just as confused as Ruby was and had know idea why he was so insistent on being benched. Yang wasn't also going to force the kid to play if he didn't want to.

"Did any of the kids say anything?" Ruby asks her, pacing in her bedroom. 

"As far as I know most of the team finds him weird for not talking even when I already explained why he can't talk," Yang sighs on her end accompanied by the faint sounds of rustling. "Some of them still find him weird, not for being unable to talk, but because he doesn't interact with most of them, he just plays baseball."

"You said most of them?" Ruby asks as she flops down on her bed and Yang hums, she can practically see her nodding her head. "Are the rest like, indifferent?" 

"Oh! About that!" Yang perks up, another rustle and she can barely hear Blake in the background groaning something low to her. "Sorry, babe. But some are indifferent about Ming, cuz the whole don't mess with me and I won't mess with you kind of thing, but there's this one kid that likes to stay close to Ming. They'd either be paired with catching practice or in the same team when they throw the balls at the fence." 

"Ming made a friend?" She asks slowly, propping herself up on her elbow.

"More like someone saw him and was like 'hey you're my friend now cuz I said so' but in a good way" Yang says, imitating a small child's voice and she can hear a soft snort followed by a soft murmur, presumably from Blake. "Yeah, like me with Blakey back in high school kind of thing."

After their talk Ruby didn't know what to make of the situation. Yang says Ming was an excellent player, was better than what he seemed to believe and yet he was adamant on abstaining from playing. It was one thing when it was a matter of self-esteem issues and doubting yourself from lack of affirmation or the results of one’s effort, but it's another thing when it's fueled by other people. Ruby wondered if she should pull out Ming from the league, but at the same time it's been good for him. He’s happier and has a friend….somewhat.

She couldn't help but let out a tired sigh as she handed someone a cup of coffee. 

"Now I know I order coffee everyday, but I didn't know you hated making it for me," A voice brings her back to the present. 

Ruby jumps slightly, hugging the tray to her chest as she locks eyes with startling light blue eyes. Weiss raised the mug to her lips, one meticulous eyebrow raised at her. Today she wore a crisp white suit, with a light blue long sleeve button up shirt and white necktie. The jacket laid down beside her, a laptop and a few scattered papers on the table along with a half-finished burger. 

"Sorry, Weiss," Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. "Just worried about something." 

"What's wrong with Ming?" She asks, brows furrowed and she placed down her coffee. 

"What? How'd you know?" Ruby reels back her head slightly in surprise, trying to think back if she said anything without her knowing. 

"Well you didn't greet me or anyone for that matter when I entered earlier and you're working like a robot. You haven't asked anyone how their day was and the regulars seem to know you're troubled and refrained from commenting," Weiss takes a single fry from her plate. She chews slowly before swallowing then she continues her small tirade. "Honestly, I think you are at this point because I can't smile at others like that if I'm worried or upset about something or maybe it's a byproduct of what they call resting bitch face." 

Ruby blinks and looks around the diner. Those that were listening in on their conversation, seeing as Weiss was right and the diner is filled with the usual customers, the moment she actually paid attention to everything around her they had turned their heads back to whatever they were doing. Even Maria and Cordovin were behaving in their little corner and Nora was her usual upbeat self but was a little calmer than usual, a few light hearted comments of a young ape clinging to their mother. They never meant it in a degrading or racist way, but Ruby did think they could have made a different analogy.

She wondered how much she was an open book for everyone that they knew she was worrying over Ming. At this point in time, every regular knew who her son was and had met him one way or another. They practically called him Ruby's shadow since he refused to separate from her unless she coaxes him to. 

"It wouldn't be your brute of a sister or her smartass of a wife, because you wouldn't be this out of it," Weiss says and Ruby looks down at her as she writes something on a piece of paper with a red pen. "Which only leaves your adorable son." 

Ruby doesn't comment how Weiss basically insulted her sister and her wife, but she knew that her words didn't hold any meaning to them when referring to them both that way. Ruby can agree that Yang can be a bit too much sometimes and Blake has taken a liking to bantering with Weiss whenever she could. It didn't take them a while to realize that Weiss was a nice person to be with underneath her cold exterior. It was mostly reserved towards assholes. 

"Ming's game is coming up this Saturday and he gave up his place on the starter lineup," Ruby sighs, dropping the tray to her lap. "And I think the other kids somehow made him think he doesn't deserve to be on it."

"Is it because he's a Faunus?" Weiss asks. Ruby shakes her head there were a handful of Faunus on the team and Yang was not one to let anyone get away with racism. "Ah, his mutism." 

"I do hope that things work out for him, Ruby," Weiss hand paused on her writing, and turned to face Ruby. "Kids can be mean, they don't mean to, but those that stand out take the brunt of their unkindness. Ming doesn't deserve that." 

"Yeah," Ruby sighs, long and low. "He really doesn't. Thanks, Weiss" 

Slowly the corners of her mouth turned up into a small smile. Weiss’ cheeks tinged pink, her head immediately turns back to the stacks of papers in front of her. 

“Go back to work, dolt,” Weiss mumbles. 

Ruby smiles wider, not knowing why the nickname has brightened up her mood slightly or maybe the talk with Weiss has helped. She didn’t think much about it and went back to work, oblivious of the eyes now watching a certain businesswoman who refuses to acknowledge them. 


	5. volunteer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ain't that the truth," Yang says from behind Ruby, slamming her hands on her shoulder. 
> 
> "Cheese and crackers, Yang!" Ruby clutches her chest, eyes wide as she turns to face her. "I told you to stop doing that." 
> 
> "Nah, it comes with being a big sister," Yang laughs it off, ruffling Ming's hair. "By the way I brought Weiss along." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More whiterose moments? Just a tiny bit :)

Now when Ruby had asked to take a day off to attend Ming's first baseball game, she didn't entirely expect Nora to close down the diner to attend as well…okay, maybe she did, but she didn't expect her to wear a white shirt with Ming's face on it as well as a sign with his name and a very adorable chibi drawing of him. Next to her Ren was subjected into wearing the same shirt as well but was holding a professional camera. Beside him sat Maria and Cordovin respectfully, surprisingly they have not argued in the past several minutes or so from their arrival. Though a snide comment here and there were thrown about between them. 

She watched the children of both teams following the warm up routines of one of the coaches. A mesh of yellow and white, of purple and grey doing jumping jacks. Soon those clashes of colors separated and went to their respective dug out. Yang had reassured her that Ming was going to play despite not being on the starter lineup, that only meant they would play first and be on the field on defense. Everyone would have a chance at batting the ball.

The bleachers were stationed behind the chain linked fence and they sat a little to the right of home base so that they could see Ming properly.

"When will he be up?" Nora asks, cheering as one of the kids manage to hit the ball to the left field, barely reaching the grassed area. 

"Not sure," Ruby lets out a breath, resting her cheek on his hand. "He was supposed to be up after the starters, but it seems like he's letting the others go before him." 

"Is he even able to do that?" Ren asks

"No, but Yang values the ability of free choice," Ruby leans back, the metal edge of the bench digging into her skin. "All she can do is encourage them up to that plate, but it's their choice in the end to be on that plate. Ming's one of the few who hesitates." 

"That does nothing more than enable indecision," Cordovin says with a huff with her arms crossed. "I say throw them up there." 

"Oh yes, apply your military hoo ha on four-year olds," Maria jabs, popping a cashew into her mouth. Ruby couldn't hear the sound of the crunch, but Cordovin did and she glared at her. 

They watch on in silence or as silent as they could be with two old women bickering every chance they can and Nora cheering on every kid hitting the ball from the tee and children throwing the ball as far as they could. The ginger held no favors for either team, being as excited as the family members of a child. Even when there was anyone else cheering for one Nora was there, even Ren took a few pictures of them. It was sweet of them, knowing what they had gone through as children. 

"What's going on there?" Ren asks, gesturing to the Dragons' dug out with his chin. 

Yang has her arms crossed, one of the volunteers stands in front of her with her hands on her hips ways away from the dugout. Both were wearing the same white with yellow lining uniforms that the children wore with a red and yellow eastern dragon on the back. Yang was wearing a brown leather jacket over hers. Their hairs hidden beneath the baseball caps they wore. 

They looked as if they were just talking, but at a closer look they were clearly arguing. 

"Looks like an argument to me," Maria pipes up from her seat. 

"Acute observation," Cordovin comments dryly. "I'm surprised your eyes can see out that far." 

"Nope, but these binoculars can," She holds up said item happily. No one asks why she brought it to a children's ball game. "They're talking about Ming." 

"What?" Ruby turns her head to look at Maria before looking over the two coaches. "Why?" 

"Beats me, kid," Maria hands her binoculars to Nora and leans on her cane. "My ability to lip read deteriorated along with my eyes. Could only pinpoint your sister saying his name." Silence followed her statement, only for a moment. "That or she's saying 'me'" 

"Either way, it looks like they're done arguing," Ren points out. 

Everyone watches as Yang rubbed her face with her hands and everyone could practically hear her groaning, she looks at the woman in front of her then nods. The woman turns with a smile on her face, sapphire eyes sparkling and Ruby blinks once, twice as she processes what she saw. She walks back to the dugout and can see her talking to Ming. Ruby wonders why she was there.

"She volunteered, I guess," Ren says. Ruby thought for a moment if he can read her mind but she realized soon after that she had asked the question out loud.

"I'm surprised she has the time," Nora chimes in. "She complains about a busy schedule all the time."

"Yeah, I saw her calendar once and I'm surprised she's able to be at the diner half the time," Ruby says.

"Shut your traps, Ming is up," Cordovin says. 

Ruby and Nora shoot to their feet, both cheering loudly. Nora raises her sign and waves it from side to side while Ren calmly takes pictures. Ming looks at them and nervously smiles, waving a timid hand their way. 

Ming positions himself at the tee, choosing to stand on the left side of the plate. Ruby can hear the shutters from Ren's camera, telling her the exact moment he takes a picture of Ming. It reminded Ruby that she has to take a video of it as well and fishes her phone from her pocket. 

She can see Ming take a deep breath, closing his eyes. He opens them a moment later, rubbing the handles of the baseball bat and keeps his eyes on the ball and swing. The second he hit the ball he ran and Nora jumps in her place, cheering. Ruby has to restrain herself or else the video would shake too much. 

"Run, Ming, run!" Nora yells and Ruby doesn't know if Nora intentionally referenced a movie or not.

She looks through the screen of her scroll as the ball went to the fence to the far right, the opposing team ran for the ball. Once one of them picks up the ball, one of the volunteers points to first base, telling them where to throw it. By the time the ball had reached first base Ming was already on second base. Nora throws her hands up in the air and laughs, Ruby couldn't help but join in. Whatever they did, she was glad Ming decided to go up to the plate to play. 

Once the game has ended, the kids spill out from their dugouts and run towards their parents. No one kept score, that wasn't the point of tee-ball. The point was for the kids to have fun and be introduced to the sport. Putting them against each other for a trophy wouldn't be as fun, in fact it would only stress them out. The children didn't mind there wasn't a winner, being happy to just have been part of the game.

"Did you see me? Did you see me?" Ming asks the moment he reaches them, dropping his bag to the ground. 

"Yes, yes, we saw you, Ming," Maria says, ruffling his hair. "I may have bad eyes, but I'm not blind."

"Yet," Cordovin says with her arms crossed. She then puts her left arm behind her back and raises a finger with her left, back straight. "But yes, excellent performance, child! You were spectacular!" 

With their praises he smiles with his teeth. Ren kneels down in front of him and shows him the pictures he took with his camera. Ming's eyes widens, talking excitedly with Ren and asking how he was able to take pictures like that. Ren, with the patience of a saint and from years of handling Nora's hyperactive nature he indulges him. He talks of the technicalities of photography, Ming clearly hardly understood any of it but listens intently nonetheless. 

Ruby watches as Yang hangs back in the small dugout, cleaning after the children along with the other volunteers. Weiss was handing the baseball helmets to Oscar, talking to him as they put them into a large net. She laughs at something he said and shakes her head, pulling off her hat and her hair spills out in waves cascading down her back. She ties it up into an off-center ponytail immediately afterwards. 

A tug of her jeans brought her attention back to Ming who held her hands up to her, standing on his toes. She smiles down at him and picks him up. 

"You were great out there, moonpie," Ruby rubs their noses together. Ming giggles, wrapping his arms around her. "I don't know what made you think differently." 

-x-

They've decided to go get pizza for lunch, Yang says she will catch up with them as soon as they do finish packing up the equipment and have a meeting. Ruby invites Maria and Cordovin, but the two turn them down politely, both having errands to do. Ming hugs them both, thanking them for coming to his first baseball game. 

Ming was on Ruby's shoulders as they walked back to their car. Ren and Nora arrived in their own vehicle with Maria and Cordovin, so they needed to drop them off to their homes and would meet up at the Scarlatina's Pizzeria. 

Ruby wanted to have Ming change into cleaner clothes, his baseball uniform stained with dirt from when he had tripped on his way to home base. Ruby had thought he would have been upset at being out from the inning and wasn't able to score for his team. Surprisingly, he stood dusting himself off with a smile on his face, running back towards his team. Ming insisted he didn't want to change and the best she could do to make him look less like a literal dirt ball was to have his face and hands cleaned.

"So how was your first game, kiddo?" Ruby asks, taking a slice of pizza, removing the bell peppers on it.

"I was really nervous cuz there were so many people," He says, bouncing in his seat. Ruby cuts the pizza in half so that he has an easier time eating it and places them on his plate. "It was really fun to play with other teams too!"

"You ran so fast, Ming," Nora exclaims, thrusting her hand forward, the palm facing down. "You were like woosh." 

"Indeed, looks like he inherited your speed, Ruby," Ren comments, refilling everyone's cup with iced tea. 

"Heh, I'm glad he inherited that and not my asthma," Ruby shakes her head. "Glad I was still able to join track back in high school."

"Ain't that the truth," Yang says from behind Ruby, slamming her hands on her shoulder. 

"Cheese and crackers, Yang!" Ruby clutches her chest, eyes wide as she turns to face her. "I told you to stop doing that." 

"Nah, it comes with being a big sister," Yang laughs it off, ruffling Ming's hair. "By the way I brought Weiss along." 

"Only because you dragged me along, you brute," Weiss says with a huff, crossing her arms.

Ming's eyes lights up at the sight of Weiss, and jumps down from his chair so fast that Ruby thinks he had fallen and her motherly instincts kicks in when he stumbles upon landing. Undeterred by the small mishap he runs toward Weiss to hug her leg, she stumbles back a step, surprised by the action. She pats his head with a soft chuckle. 

Yang pouts about lacking hugs and Ming complies with a small giggle. He was lifted up by Yang, his tail immediately wraps around the arm underneath his butt.

"You'll always be my favorite aunt, aunt Yang," Ming says with a smile. 

"Whatever you say, little man," Yang chuckles, helping him back up on his chair. 

"Can Weiss sit next to me?" He asks, eyes wide and lips pouting.

It didn't take long for Yang to crumble from the sight. "Jeez, kiddo, those are deadly. I swear you could stop a war with that look alone," 

"Or you need self-restraint," Weiss comments with a roll of her eyes. 

Ruby can't help but let out a smile at their bickering. The blush on Weiss' face seems to go over Ruby's head except for the rest of the group. Nora opened her mouth to say something, a devilish glint in her eyes, but Ren stops her with a finger to his lips, equally as amused as his wife.

Once everyone has settled down Ruby catches Weiss' eyes, they both smile at each other. They hold the contact for a few moments before Ming takes Weiss' attention all for himself, starts sharing to her about how he hasn't stopped practicing origami at home. Ruby could agree, having to clean up the crumbled pieces of paper that roughly resembled boats and fish. There were a few tries on frogs, but it seemed that particular one was a challenge for Ming. 

Weiss takes out a notepad from her purse as she shows Ming how to make a frog again, asking him where he was struggling with. 

Yang had taken one of the frogs, flicking it towards Ruby. She stares at it when it landed on her half eaten pizza. "Aren't you hoppy, Rubes?" 

Everyone at the table groans while Yang basks in their reactions. Ming, however, is very amused by the pun. Ruby hopes he would never pick that up from his aunt. 


	6. birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I like being with you," 
> 
> It’s an innocent statement, but somehow it feels like it meant more to Ruby than she thinks it does. She presses the back of their hands closer and it was like electricity went up her arm, ever insistent and tingling. 
> 
> "I enjoy your company as well," Weiss replies with genuine certainty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh these two are so gay theyre killing me as i write this story
> 
> i was supposed to write my bee fic for a big bang then i suddenly had an idea and ended up doing this.

"A birthday?" Ruby asks, looking up from the invitation made of colored paper, glitter and crayons. 

_Adrian's 5th Birthday!_

Ming nods, scuffing his shoes at the tiled floor, hands behind his back. She looks down at the card again, noting there was even a number of the parents written at the bottom as well as telling them to call if their child has any allergies they needed to avoid. Some parts of the invitation were clearly drawn by the birthday celebrant and clearly made by an adult, it was nice of them to include their son in making them. 

"And you want to go?"

Ming shrugs in response. "Should I?" 

"It's not a matter of should you, it's whether you want to or not," Ruby says. 

As much as she wanted him to make friends and to bond with them, she didn't want to force him into situations he didn't want to partake in. Awkwardness runs in the family and as much as he had Xiao Long-Wukong genes in him, he's as much of a Rose as she was. 

"He's nice and tells the other kids to stop being mean to me," Ming says biting his lower lip. "He goes to the same school too, just at a different class section." 

"So, how about it, kiddo?" Ruby kneels down in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to go?"

He holds his tail, brows scrunches up in thought. His hesitance was understandable, he never had a friend his own age before, he's been with other kids before but hasn't interacted with them, much less left Ruby's side. Ruby patiently waits for his answer, thanking the maidens that it was a slow weekend. Not many customers were in and those that were are happily occupied with their meals. 

Ming breathes in deeply, nodding as he sighs. His eyes lock on Ruby with resolve and she can't help but smile at that. 

"Alright, go sit down while I go back to work," Ruby stands and without complaint does as he was told. 

She watches him as he jogs back to his little corner, the table filled with folded paper. She pulls out her phone and saving the contacts of the parents in her phone, sending a text of who she was and listing Ming's allergy of tuna and peanuts. It was a big step for him, attending a birthday. His first birthday invitation. Ruby isn't sure if she's supposed to frame the invitation or not, should she even start a scrapbook?

  
  


-x-

Ruby double checked the address on the card, confirming that they had the right house. It was a simple two-story yellow house with a bright red door. She holds Ming's hand with her right, the present for Adrian under her arm. She knocks on the door with her left. 

"Coming!" They can hear from the inside, muffled.

Ming tugs her arm, pointing at the doorbell, silver eyes looking up at her hopeful. Ruby smiles, hands him the present and picks him up, stepping closer to the doorbell. He presses it once, jerking his hand back when a two note rang out within the house. 

A six-foot tall blonde man with blue eyes opens the door, smiling wide at them. Ruby can't help but think that he seemed familiar.

"You must be Ming's mom," He says, holding out his hand to her. 

"That I am," Ruby shakes his hand after putting down Ming. "Just call me Ruby." 

"Jaune Arc," Jaune says as he steps to the side and widens the door for them. "Just call me Jaune and come on in. Welcome to our humble abode." 

As soon as they entered, Ruby can't help but admire the house. It was a simple home, minimal decorations but you can still see the personality of those that live in it from the small knick knacks on the dresser placed in the corridor and the photos that decorated the walls. Jaune leads them through the living room to their left, past the dining room and into the backyard where most of the attendants were. 

She notes the white picket fence that surrounds the area, glad to know that none of the children can easily leave the premises. She recognizes a few kids from when she drops off Ming to preschool as well as the parents present. Jaune gestures to the table to the side filled with presents and Ruby picks up Ming from under his armpits so that he could place the present on the table, wanting to do it himself.

"Ming!" A boy with light brown complexion, dark hair and brown eyes runs up to them. Ruby puts Ming down. He holds out his hand towards Ming. "I'm so glad you came! C'mon we're going to open up the piñata!" 

Ming steps back, clutching at Ruby's red knee-length skirt. He looks up at her, biting his lower lip then glances at the crowd of children that surrounds the single tree in the backyard, a piñata shaped like an airplane hanging from the branches, high over the children's heads. A woman with bright red hair and green eyes, held the rope. Ruby recognizes the woman as Pyrrha, Weiss' friend.

"Hey, it's okay," Ruby kneels down, she takes the hand that was holding her skirt, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. "I'll be right here when you need me." 

Ming hesitates before taking the offered hand of the boy and once they did he pulls Ming towards the tree. Ruby smiles as the boy began to talk animatedly at Ming, asking questions that he could easily answer with a shake or nod of his head. 

"Sorry about that, Adrian is a bit eccentric," Jaune chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"I'd like to think he's just excited to see a friend," Ruby comments as she stands. She turns to him, scratching her head. "Have we met before? You seem oddly familiar." 

"I'm one of the co-coaches for the Dragons," He smiles, gestures towards the table filled with food and refreshments. She nods, following after him. "Sadly, I wasn't there for their first game since I got the stomach bug. A friend came to fill in for me though." 

"That was nice of them," Ruby grabs a paper cup and pours an orange soda for herself. "But I still think I met you someplace else." 

"Where did you go after highschool?" Jaune asks, waving at one of the parents that came to get another piece of pie. 

"Beacon University, I was taking med tech," Ruby adds ice into her cup. "After that med school." 

"Oh wow, I took nursing in Beacon as well, maybe we had a class together?" Jaune shrugs his shoulder. 

"Yeah, probably," Ruby hums, bring the cup to her lips. Reminiscing back to her old college days. "I do remember that one first aid seminar every medical student was required every year. When they showed pictures of degrees of burn victims and lacerations, someone pukes right in front of the speaker. She was definitely in the blast zone." 

Jaune chokes on air, coughing into his elbow as he doubled over trying to regain his breath. Ruby quirks an eyebrow at him, eyes widening soon after as realization hits her. 

"Oh my god, you're vomit boy," She whispers, giggling behind her hand. 

"Oh wow, I don't miss that nickname at all," He groans, eyes cast towards the sky, his shoulders slump. "Moving on from my embarrassing moments back in uni, what kind of doctor are you?" 

"Oh I wasn't able to finish my residency and dropped out halfway through," Ruby answers nonchalantly, eyes drifting towards Ming who now blindfolded and swinging the bat at the piñata, the kids all yelling directions. He kept missing the piñata, too far off to the right, but she could still see him laughing. "Had more pressing matters." 

Jaune nods in understanding and didn't ask anymore questions about her career after that. The doorbell rang and he went to answer. Ruby decides to go around and talk with the parents, a couple of them were in the same financial situation as she was in and they bonded over life hacks and better ways to save money but also giving their kids the best experience they could give. She couldn't remember talking to any other parent since Ming was a toddler. 

Ming walks over to Ruby after the piñata was finally broken by one of the older kids. He used his shirt to hold his winnings. Although he pauses halfway and notices a few kids mumbling their displeasure of only getting a couple of candies. He looks down at his prize, then approaches the kids, lifting his shirt up offering the candies to them. In the end he was left with three chocolate bars and a few mints and chocolate coins.

Ruby holds out his backpack, letting him dump the sweets in. 

"Thanks, mom," He says and Adrian calls him back. 

Her eyes linger on them for a moment longer. Adrian was holding Ming's hand as he introduces him to the other kids. One of them moved her hands around rapidly and burst into laughter afterwards along with a couple of other kids. Ming doesn't react. Ruby frowns at how her son's head droops down.

Adrian says something to the girl, his fists clenched at his side. The girl stomps her foot with a huff, crossing her arms. She seemed to have mumbled something and Ming raised a fist to his face, fingers against his chin then pulling it away as it opens. 

It's okay.

Ruby assumes Adrian knew what it meant when he starts talking again and they all run over to the face painting station, where two teenagers and a man have just finished setting up their booth. 

"What's wrong with your kid?" 

"Excuse me?" Ruby asks, turning to one of the parents who asked the question. 

She had long brown hair that reached her lower back, make-up simple and light. She wore a green tank top that hugs her curves with a grey cardigan over it and jeans. She rolls her green eyes and Ruby can't help but feel like she was being oversensitive and being judged for it.

"Like, he's not talking and all that," She asks again slowly as if Ruby didn't understand her question. "Did he get molested or something? Maybe you drank alcohol during pregnancy?" 

Ruby could feel her face wince and for a moment she saw the brunette smirk. The other parents around them stop talking and eye them both, sensing the tense atmosphere that is growing. Ruby narrows her eyes at the woman, she flexes her fingers, fighting the urge to snap at her. It made Ruby mad, furious that someone has the audacity to ask such a question, but it also hurt. It hurts Ruby knowing that is how some people will see Ming, how they will see her. When a child is as different as Ming, people will jump to conclusions, will have preconceived notions on the matter without even bothering to learn the entire story.

"Now I'm very convinced that you don't think before you speak, Daisy," Weiss says, suddenly appearing at Ruby's side. "That or you just lack proper manners. Honestly, is that what you teach Kayla?" 

"Weiss, I see you've been invited," Daisy grits her teeth, forcing a smile. "I was only asking a question, nothing wrong with that." 

"Oh, being curious isn't a crime. How else would we gain knowledge, no?" Weiss flips her braided hair over her shoulder, cocking out her hip to the side as she crosses her arms. "I'm simply appalled by your lack of...tact. It’s concerning really." 

“Well no kid would be that messed up if nothing happened to them,” Daisy says with a huff.

"You shouldn't project yourself onto others so much," Weiss says and Daisy scowls at her. "Just because you can't put down the bottle, doesn't mean everyone else does the same."

Ruby snorts, masking it behind a cough when Daisy’s glare lands on her. Ruby smiles behind her fist as her gaze flickers between them both. Daisy turns with a click of her tongue, her and two other women move towards the other side of the backyard. Weiss watches them walk away with a look of indifference. 

"Anyone else want to ask insensitive and tactless questions?" Weiss asks the others, raising one meticulous eyebrow at them. 

They all shook their heads and went back to their previous conversations with each other. Weiss nods, satisfied that no one else had anything else to say on the matter. Ruby wonders if Weiss was like this at her job, well not the insulting a person part, but being a person who refuses to stand down. 

"Hey, it's alright, Daisy has been like that since forever. We just learn to ignore her most of the time," Octavia, one of the first of the parents she had talked to when she arrived at the party. 

"It's fine," Ruby says with a sigh, shouldering Ming's backpack. "I'm used to it." 

"Well, you shouldn't be," Weiss says, narrowing her eyes at Daisy when she glanced towards them. For a moment Ruby thought that her light blue eyes turned into a storm the way she glared at Daisy. "You'd think people would know better." 

"Thanks, Weiss," Ruby says, rubbing the back of her neck. 

"You're such a dolt," Weiss rolls her eyes at her and Ruby smiles in return. 

A slight blush spreads across her cheeks and Weiss turns her head, avoiding Ruby's eyes. She took a paper plate from the table and fans herself with it, as if the blush was because of the slight heat. With her complexion it was believable. 

Octavia looks at them curiously and when her gaze locks with Weiss, her eyes flashes with mirth. Weiss, reading what was on her mind scowls at her, giving her a look of _'don't you dare'._

Octavia merely shrugs her shoulders and makes an excuse of looking for the bathroom and makes her way towards Pyrrha. 

"I didn't think Pyrrha had a kid," Ruby says to break the silence between them. 

"She doesn't," Weiss replies, eyeing the plethora of food in front of them. "Adrian is Jaune's nephew. His parents are both out of town for the moment and will be staying with them for the time being."

Ruby nods, picking up a pig in a blanket, popping it into her mouth. "Makes sense, since he doesn't look like either of them. So, I assumed they adopted or something."

"They've been talking about having a child," Weiss places a muffin on her plate and a small serving of spaghetti. "But that's all they've done. Just talking about it." 

"Thanks, by the way," Ruby takes a muffin for herself as well and gestures for them to move towards the tree. 

"For what?" Weiss asks as she follows.

Ruby shrugs her shoulders as she steps into the shade. 

"Being nice and spending time with Ming," She says, taking a bite of the muffin. She hums as the banana flavor fills her mouth. "And at his game. I don't know what you said, but I'm glad he finally took part in it." 

"Clearly, he wanted to play, something just held him back," Weiss waves her hand as if it was nothing. "Whatever it was, all it took was a little push and incentive." 

"Isn't that those burning sticks Mistralians use?" Ruby scratches her head. 

"Those are incense sticks, Ruby," Weiss states with a faint smile.

"Oops, my mistake," Ruby shakes her head with a grin and leans back onto the tree. "I'm curious to know what this incentive is though." 

"It's pretty simple," Weiss twirls her fork on the spaghetti. "A child wants nothing more than to make their parents proud of them," 

Ruby freezes mid bite, giving Weiss a side glance as she takes a forkful of spaghetti then pulls out a handkerchief from her jeans and dabs the corner of her lips. Ruby chews slowly then swallows, as she coughs into a fist. Ruby likes that about Weiss, as if every move she made has purpose. She’s always so prim and proper, like a queen. Ruby starts to imagine Weiss at her company, sitting on a throne.

"I see," Ruby mumbles, her gaze landing onto Ming who now was sitting crossed legged in a circle and the girl earlier who had made fun of Ming walks around them, tapping their heads as she passes them. Ming's left cheek has a yellow star on it and a yellow heart on his right. "I guess it really is that simple." 

Ruby watches as Ming is tapped on the head by a boy who that was it and takes off immediately. Ming springs to his feet in no time, running after him. It was nice to finally see him smile the way he does right now, having fun with others. Sure, they went to the park from time to time, but Ming only played by himself by the sandbox or the jungle gym. 

Weiss' knuckles brushes against Ruby's, she freezes, looking down at how close their hands were. She looks up at Weiss, who kept her eyes on the people around them, taking a bite of her muffin. The plate she had was placed down on a nearby chair.

"Hey, Weiss?" Ruby looks at Ming again, who was now the one being it. 

"Yes, Ruby?" 

Ming taps each head with one hand he passes, those that were seated yelling 'duck'. Ruby is amazed by the compromise they made to include Ming in their game despite his inability to say the required words for it. She wonders if Adrian thought of it or one of the other kids.

"I like being with you," 

It’s an innocent statement, but somehow it feels like it meant more to Ruby than she thinks it does. She presses the back of their hands closer and it was like electricity went up her arm, ever insistent and tingling. 

"I enjoy your company as well," Weiss replies with genuine certainty. 

Ruby couldn't help but smile at her response. Ming taps a girl with blonde hair with both of his hands and all of them yells goose. He takes off like a bullet, the girl right on his heels, matching his strides without difficulty. Ruby hooks her pinky finger with Weiss' and they stay like that as they talk, of everything and nothing all at the same time, even when they finish their muffins. Both avoided any personal questions in regards to family and only gave what they were willing to tell to each other. Comfortable of the fact that neither of them would delve in deeper and accept things as is, that both will share more with time. They both stay underneath the tree, relaxing within the shade and basking in the slight breeze that passes through them once in a while.


	7. sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're suddenly all quiet," Nora says, poking her nose and bringing her back from her thoughts. 
> 
> "Just thinking," Ruby swats her hand away, wrinkling her nose. 
> 
> "About Weiss?" 
> 
> "No,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh wow when did i last update? idk i got a bad case of writer's block and it got worse with depression and insecurities just coming at me from all directions. here's an update lol 
> 
> i dont have a beta so this might suck haha

The day was going great for Ruby, for once Ming is excited to go to school. He had barged into her room early in the morning and jumped on her bed as if it was Christmas morning. Ruby didn’t know what had gotten him excited for the day, but her sleep addled mind didn’t care. He had woken her up an hour earlier than usual and Ruby wanted nothing more than to go back to get some extra sleep, but Ming, despite not making a sound, was very persistent with a ladle and pot in hand. She's swore at Yang for telling him how she had woken Ruby up when they were kids.

Another thing that has made Ruby's day was that Ren finally invested in a new sound system. One that she could connect her phone to and pick whatever song she wants. So Ruby sways her hips to 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' from her phone as she cleans the counter of spilled coffee and traces of food. She sings along to the song, loving the vibe of the diner.

"What's got you so happy?" Nora nudges her side with her elbow. 

"Nothing, just a good day is all," Ruby shoves her lightly, chuckling. 

Nora raises an eyebrow at her, grinning. "Oh yeah? Heard you and Ice Queen have been getting along lately," 

"Nora, I get along with everyone," Ruby rolls her eyes. "Well except assholes, but you get what I'm saying." 

Ren rings the bell from the kitchen and places the freshly cooked soup from the small window. Ruby grabs her tray and takes the order before Nora could.

"You're not getting away from this that easily!" Nora yells, pointing at her. 

"I'm working, Nora. I'm not running away from anything," Ruby says with a huff, checking the paper for the table for the soup. "Weiss is nice, a little prickly, but nice."

"I don't think threatening to sue me is a nice thing," Nora rests her chin on her arm.

"You asked her if you bench press her while balancing on a surfboard on a yoga ball," Ren says from the kitchen. Slightly muffled but both women heard it. 

Nora turns towards the window that connects the kitchen and dining area. Places her hands on her hips. "It's for science! A fancy schmancy girl like her must have had etiquette lessons growing up, so that means she has perfect balance!"

Ruby rolls her eyes at the ginger and hands the pumpkin soup to an elderly man with a fedora hat that covers his receding hairline. Smiling wide at Ruby that shows the remaining one tooth he has. 

"Do you need anything else, sir?" Ruby asks, her voice slightly raised and leaning in close for good measure. 

"Can I have some more water?" 

She nods with a smile, going behind the counter to fetch the pitcher of water. Their usual customers were either the elderly, it was no problem for them to adjust the food for their diet or workers from a nearby factory/warehouse that wanted a cheap place to eat, it was just a bonus that the Flower Power Diner's food tastes amazing despite the price. Lately, ever since Weiss has been showing up at their diner once or twice a week, they were getting more popular. A few fancy business people to highschoolers that were curious why a CEO to a multi-million company is eating at a diner instead of a five star restaurant. 

Today was one of those days, the diner filled with all kinds of people that vary from a struggling factory worker in worn out clothes enjoying a greasy burger and a neatly dressed paper pusher digging into a steaming hot soup with salad on the side. 

Ruby remembered the first time people from Schnee Industries started going to their diner when Weiss was present. She was reading a document on her laptop while eating a plate of honey glazed buffalo wings with such neatness and grace only Weiss Schnee would be capable of. Ruby wondered if Weiss didn’t see the strange and shocked looks sent her way by her subordinates or she merely didn’t give a damn.

"You're suddenly all quiet," Nora says, poking her nose and bringing her back from her thoughts. 

"Just thinking," Ruby swats her hand away, wrinkling her nose. 

"About Weiss?" 

"No,"

Nora doesn't believe her and Ruby knows it, but defending herself would just mean she just lied so she chooses silence and goes back to work. Ignoring the way Nora smirks at her the rest of the morning. Ren gives her a blank stare, but his wife merely shrugs with a hop in her step as she gathers up the plate left by a customer. 

The lunch rush was killing her, she was carrying a tray stacked with plastic wicker baskets with greese-proof papers. The revolving slider over the serving counter was filled to the brim with orders and threatened to spill over. Surprisingly, Ren has his composure in check within the kitchen and instructs the two part timers with a calm voice. 

Ruby doesn't have the usual time to stop by and chat with the customers and they didn't seem to be bothered by it as well. The food in front of them was given higher priority than a simple friendly chat.

Despite how hectic and lively the diner is, Ruby's eyes land on the clock above the door. It was nearly thirty minutes after noon and she wonders when Weiss would arrive or if she had decided to eat lunch at the diner that day. Ruby stops in her tracks, blinking. 

"Hey, red!" A large man with curly black hair yells over the noise of the diner, his hand raised above his head. "Check please." 

"Just a moment, Tyson!" Ruby yells back, dropping off the customers' meals. 

By the time she reached the counter to ring up Tyson's order the chime of the bell above the door rang, drowned out by the noise of the diner. She lets Nora greet the newcomer, focusing on punching in Tyson's orders into the cash register. She rips off the receipt and makes her way towards the far end of the diner. 

"That'll be eleven point fifty-six lien, good sir," Ruby chirps, handing him a small rectangular wicker basket with the receipt inside. 

Tyson takes out his wallet, pulling out a twenty lien bill. "Keep the change." 

"Tyson, that's too much," Ruby hesitates to take the basket held out to her. "I can't." 

"You got a kid to look after," He insists, shoving it into her hands. He places a fedora over his receding hair. "I got a kid too and they're the same age and I heard you have him playing ball. School and extracurricular activities can get pricey." 

"T-Thank you," Ruby stutters out. 

Tyson tips his hat and stands, shrugging on his long coat. It reminds her that it was going to be autumn soon and Ming needs a new jacket since he has outgrown his old one. Ruby bites her lower lip, hoping that maybe she could find a good one at a thrift store, one that can last at least until spring. 

His birthday was by the start of autumn, sometimes the first day. Maybe she would get lucky and Yang would buy him a new one, she knew that her sister was eyeing Ming's ratty old jacket he wore that looked too small on him now. 

The lunch hour begins to settle and Ruby lets out a sigh of relief when she drops herself onto the high chair, resting her head and arms over the cash register. Her feet ache, she can feel her ankles crying with joy as they dangle in the air. Ruby curls her toes, rotating her feet to relieve the tension of her feet and stretches her legs. 

The chime of her phone brought her attention and she sits up as she pulls it out of her pockets. She had two messages, one from the daycare and another from Yang. 

**Mrs. Leon**

10:49AM

_ The daycare will be having a half day today due to an emergency meeting. We are sorry for the inconveniences that this may have caused. We advise that you pick up your child as soon as possible at your earliest convenience. _

_ Enjoy your day! _

  
  


**Yangarang**

1:05PM 

_ Ming called me. Blake's on her way to him right now, she'll drop him off at the diner since I'm needed at Beacon at the moment. I'll pick him up later for practice. _

Ruby was really glad for her sister's help. Yang and Blake both have a more flexible schedule than she does and it was nice of Goodwitch to let Yang leave on such short notice from time to time to handle family matters. Blake's job as a writer meant if Yang was unable to pick up Ming that meant she could. Ruby didn't know how she would have managed if it were not for them both.

It didn’t take long for Blake to arrive at the diner with Ming while she was on her lunch break. She was pleasantly surprised to find that Adrian had also come along with them. Ming excitedly jumps out from the car, pulling Adrian right behind him. 

Blake watches from the driver’s seat as the two children head inside the diner. Ruby was unable to see it, but she did imagine Ming pushing the door with his shoulder. Blake waves at her before she leaves once the two have gone inside and were halfway towards the booth where Ruby sat. 

“Hi, Mrs. Wukong!” Adrian enthusiastically waves. 

Ming lets go of his hand and walks up beside her. Ruby leans down and offers her cheek to him. He kisses it then throws his bag into the seat across from her before climbing up on it Adrian follows suit without throwing his bag.

“Hello, Adrian,” Ruby smiles “Just call me Ruby.”

Ming taps Adrian’s shoulder, for the rest of her break she just watches as the two boys talk. Adrian was quick to learn sign language, asking Ruby for assistance when Ming was unable to put into words what he wanted to say or if Adrian was lost in trying to translate what Ming was trying to say. 

Ruby couldn’t stop but smile at the sight before her as they enjoyed themselves, Nora didn’t even bother reminding her that her break was over ten minutes ago, they were only a handful of people loitering after finishing their meals. It was when the Diner was half full of customers by mid afternoon that Ruby had gone back to work, reminding them that they could order anything they wanted and just call for her or Nora. 

Ming raps his knuckles on the table to get her attention before she leaves.

“Need something, Ming?” Ruby asks. 

He squirms in his seat, fiddling with his hands as he glances at Adrian beside him who gave him an encouraging smile. 

“Can I sleep over at Adrian’s tonight?” His hands moved slowly, hesitant and if he could speak she was sure he would have stuttered. 

The question came out of left field for her, she had watched them talk, mostly it was about what they had done during recess or what happened in their respective classes or something about baseball. During that time they had not mentioned anything about a sleepover. It was also something that she was not expecting from her son any time soon with his shy nature and all. 

It took a while for Ruby to consider the prospect of Ming sleeping at another person’s house without her there. On one hand, she was not comfortable with the thought of Ming being gone from her side that long, on the other he was coming out of his shell and was willing to spend a night at a friend’s house.

She knew Jaune, talked to him a few times from games and get-togethers. Pyrrha was nice and came with Weiss to the diner from time to time. It’s not that she doesn’t trust them, she did. She's has gotten the opportunity to know the couple more as the weeks passed by. it’s just something in her was hesitant to let go of him, a selfish part of her that wants him all to herself just a little bit more.

“Please?” He asks after waving his hands to pull her from her thoughts. “It’s friday, there’s no school tomorrow.” 

“Okay,” She says once she saw the pleading look on his face. It looked like he really wanted to go there overnight. “If I can get off early I’ll pick you up from practice and drop you off at Jaune’s place once we get your things, okay?”

He nods enthusiastically, smiles so wide that Ruby wonders if it would cramp. Adrian throws his fists up in the air with a loud ‘whoo’ causing some of the patrons to look their way. She catches a particular hue of blue, one she had grown fond of seeing. 

Weiss raises a hand for a simple wave and she smiles with her teeth, waving back at her. Ruby didn’t know when Weiss had arrived, being so occupied with Ming on her break, but it made her happy to see her again. Weiss ducks down behind her laptop, going back to her work, she spotted a tint of pink on her cheeks. It was probably from what she was looking on her laptop, being so close to it and all. Ruby thinks Weiss shouldn’t do that as it would ruin her eyes. 

From the side, Nora was snickering behind her hand, saying something to Ren that only he could hear. As two men enter the diner, Ruby officially goes back to work, grabbing two menus beside the cash register to hand over as she greets them. 


	8. advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You look like her, kinda act like her a little too" She states, "Summer, I mean." 
> 
> "What was she like in college?" 
> 
> Raven raises an eyebrow at the question. "Hasn't Tai told you about how she was back in college?" 
> 
> "Well yeah," Ruby pulls the corgi mug closer to her, takes a small sip. She pulls back with a pained grimace. "But I want to know what you thought of her then too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's like a significant change to how I write it's cuz I don't have anyone to beta for me XD The one who beta'd the previous chapters is very busy and I don't want to bother them too much. So from now on I'm going to die like a man and post chapters without a second pair of eyes to edit it.
> 
> Was gonna have actual Whiterose date in this chap, but ya know what? I think yall can wait a bit more, yeah? ;)

"You need to go on a date," 

"What?" 

"A date, go out, meet other people, put yourself out there," 

"Yang, I get that, I'm just confused why you brought it up," 

Yang shrugs as she smashes the garlic with the side of the knife, throwing the skin off to the side before chopping it into smaller pieces. Ruby stands by the sink, a colander filled with pork in her hands, washing and draining any remaining blood. 

"It wouldn't be a bad idea to be with someone, you know," She says, dumping the garlic in hot oil. "Would it be so bad to meet someone new?" 

"I meet someone new everyday," Ruby rolls her eyes, places the colander beside the stove and leans back against the counter, hands gripping the edge at her sides. 

"The ones at your job don't count," 

They fall silent at that. Yang focuses on the pot, grabs the bowl of sliced onions and throws them in. Ruby distracts herself with the rice, preparing it as if the tiniest shift of ratio of the rice and water would greatly affect the final product. 

Yang adds in the pork just as Ruby puts the pot in the rice cooker. 

"You know it's fine to be with someone else other than Sun, right?" She doesn't look her way, keeps her eyes on the pork, moves them around with a wooden spoon so that they would be evenly cooked. "Dad had two." 

"I know," Ruby says, pushes the button of the rice cooker a bit too hard. If Yang noticed, she didn't comment on it. "I know."

Ruby hands Yang the soy sauce and vinegar to add into the pot, grabbing two bay leaves from a jar and throwing them in after along with a couple cups of water. It was quiet, the uncomfortable kind but both didn't know how to fill in the silence, the weight of the conversation bearing down on them. The only sounds that could be heard was the bubbling of boiling liquid and the other occupants of the house talking in the living room. Ruby could hear her dad the loudest. 

"So what's stopping you?" Yang finally asks, forgoing being careful about the topic at hand. 

"Yang, I feel like I can't let go, that I shouldn't," Ruby sighs, finally meeting Yang's gaze. 

Of course, Ming would be a good excuse, but it's flimsy at best, especially with how smart he is. Yang wouldn't believe her either way, she knows Ruby better than that, knows how her mind works. It was hard to lie to her most times. Yang looks at her, those lilac eyes that she’s known to gaze upon her with such scrutiny whenever they had discussions like these. That at times she looks more like a mother trying to get their child to open up their problems to them. 

-x-

Stepping out on the back porch, Ruby raises her hands above her head, stretching out her body that she stands on the tip of her toes. She feels a few places on her spine pops and lets out a satisfying groan.

During dinner the conversation lingered on her mind. She moved on autopilot, adding food to Ming’s plate while hers barely had any. Whatever would be left on Ming’s plate that he won’t be able to finish she would eat anyways. Their dad shook his head as Yang dramatically showed her disgust of the plate of bittermelon and meat, while Blake and Ming ate their portions of it happily. Raven continued on with hers without so much as a grimace or acknowledging the noise around her, occasionally contributing to whatever topic they discussed. 

"What are you doing out here, kiddo?" Taiyang asks. 

Ruby jumped at the voice, turning to see her dad sitting on the bench swing.

"Thought I'd get some fresh air," Ruby walks over to him, one hand on the wooden railing. "Ming is showing Raven his newfound origami skills and Yang and Blake are going out for a stroll in the forest." 

He hums, pushing the bench back with his feet and lets it swing. The bench creaks whenever it comes back down, despite the sound and its old age, it was still sturdy. Her uncle had told her that the bench was there before Yang was even born, maybe before their dad was.

"How are you?" Ruby asks, sitting down beside him. He reeks of medicine, and rubbing alcohol.

"Fine, still going through chemo," He leans against the backrest. "Raven's been great help these past few years." 

"I'm glad she's here to look after you, at least you wouldn't be so lonely," 

The sound of the doggy door opening brought their attention to the door, slowly making his way through it was a grey and white corgi. Its fur has turned into a lighter color, slightly chubbier than the average dog of its breed. Age has caught up to Zwei and he walks slowly out onto the porch. Zwei looks at them, panting happily as his butt moves from side to side, less vigorously as he would when Ruby was in college. He trots over to them, lying against the railing. 

"She’s like a warden most times," Tai shifts in his seat, pulling one leg up as he angles his body to face her. "What about you? How are you holding up?" 

"Ming has another game next week," Ruby dodges the question, keeping the swing going with her feet, with the tip of her toes to her heels. "It'd mean a lot for him if you could go." 

"I will then," Even with one foot that remains on the ground, he moves along with her movements. 

"Would Raven let you? There's gonna be a lot of people there." 

Exposing him to a crowd would be a risk to his health, just a simple flu and his condition would go downhill. However, Tai wasn't one to let things stop him from doing what he wants, unless Raven said so. It seemed she was the only one that could stop him from doing anything reckless. It was also a nice way for him to get out more, it must have been a little frustrating for him that he couldn’t go out like he used to do, taking his health into account whenever he wanted to.

"I'll use Ming as a reason." He waves his hand offhandedly. "I don't think she'll want to make the little man sad, now would she?" 

“Oh my god,” Ruby laughs, shoving her dad lightly. He laughs along with her, the deep sound reverting within his chest. "You're using your own grandson? For shame." 

It was quiet between them after that, the symphonies of the night filling the silence. It was a full moon that night, illuminating the area around them. Normally, Ruby would barely see the treeline at night, but tonight she can even see an owl perched on one of the branches of a tree, hooting occasionally. 

"Hey dad?" 

"Yeah, baby girl?" 

"Ugh, ew dad. I'm in my thirties." She sticks out her tongue at him as he chuckles. "Did you still love Raven when you met mom?" 

"With all my heart,"

"Did you feel guilty about it?" 

"Ruby Wukong, have you met someone?" Taiyang elbows her side, smirking.

"Dad!" Her cheeks flushed red, she slaps his arm. "I'm just asking. For a friend." 

"For a friend" He nods, playing along. "For a while, I kept worrying what I would do if Raven ever decided to come back." He stares off at the treeline, the leaves swaying along the cool night breeze. "I always wondered if she would actually own up to what she says and hit Summer. if it was too soon, if what I was doing was wrong. " 

"Was it?" 

He lets out a sigh.

"At some point I had to accept the fact Raven left me and your sister and Summer picked up the pieces for her. I loved Raven, even after all these years I still do, but I also love your mom just as much. Losing someone you love hurts and can stay with you your whole life," He turns to look at her with a soft smile, "But don't let that hurt stop you from doing what makes you happy." 

"I am happy," She says, resting her head against his chest. "I have my family, friends that support me." 

"True," He wraps his arm around her, pulling her close. Her head tucked under his chin. She breathes in deep, not at all bothered that he smells so much like an emergency room. "But you can be happier." 

-x-

By nine in the evening Raven had come out back to tell Ruby that she had taken Ming for a bath and tucked him in for her. Raven also reminds Taiyang about taking his medicine. 

He stands up from his seat with an "Alright alright, woman," which elicits a glare from his wife that he laughs off. 

Both disappear back into the house while Ruby decides to stay a little longer outside. She misses the fresh air from out in the countryside, Vale was good and all and the parks were spacious and well kept, but nothing beats good ol' mother nature. An hour and half later Yang and Blake had come back from their walk, she waves at them as they come out of the treeline. 

It was nearly midnight when Raven had come back out to check up on her, blanket in hand.

"It's freezing out here, aren't you cold?" She says with a frown, hands the blanket over to her.

"I just didn't want to get up," Ruby smiles sheepishly, wrapping the blanket around herself. "It's nice to be able to look up at the stars for once and without all the city noise." 

Raven hums her agreement, settling down beside Ruby. They sat in relative silence. 

Ruby had no quarrels with Raven when she came back into their lives when she was seventeen, Ruby knew of her and wasn’t happy that she abandoned Yang as a child, but that was all she had for Raven. She couldn't say the same for Yang though. The built up resentment she had over her birth mother ran deep into her heart as one would be when knowing your birth mother left when you were an infant and came back years later. Raven didn't hold it against Yang, she understood the ramifications of her actions and she accepted Yang's anger, embraced it even, her frustrations, her tears, letting her air out her grievances.

It wasn't until Yang was twenty three that she started forgiving Raven, especially when their dad had fallen ill.

One thing they learned about Raven was that she was blunt about her opinions, but held her tongue about them. At first it frustrated them that she was so tactless about the things she said most times, how they sounded inconsiderate and harsh. As the years had gone by she learned how to better communicate her thoughts better and they learned not to take her words at face value. It was a rough start, but they made it through. 

Raven wasn't one to open up to people, but with what she lacked in words she made up for actions. It was subtle until you looked for them, the way she would place four mugs out in the morning beside the coffee machine, the best way to make tea, Ruby’s art supplies being organized. Small things that would’ve been a slight inconvenience to them. 

At first she wasn't a very good cook, only knew the basics. She admitted that most times she would order take out and only cooked when necessary. Throughout the years she'd learned how to cook their favorite dishes. 

The moment she had Ming in her arms, she had cried. It was the only time any of them saw her express herself other than with a scowl or a small grin. Raven wasn't one to put her heart on her sleeve, but at that moment they knew she had regretted her actions years ago. It took a month for Ruby to know that Raven was the one who spoiled Ming the most.

"It's almost one in the morning," Raven points out. 

Ruby doesn't know how she knew. She didn't have a watch and Raven didn't check her phone, even if it was on her. Ruby shrugs her shoulders. She hardly realized that they've basically just sat there, existing and staring up at the sky.

"Do you even plan on sleeping tonight?"

"Maybe?" 

"Alright, kid," Raven sighs tiredly, standing up. "Get inside, I'll make something to warm you up with."

Ruby was about to protest, but one look from Raven had her mouth close and following after her back inside the kitchen. Ruby sits by the dining table, watches as Raven moves around the kitchen, grabbing a jar of honey from the cupboard, milk from the fridge, wrapping what looked like dark purple seeds in a cheesecloth. 

"What are you making?" Ruby lays her head down on the table, cheek pressed against the cold wood. 

"Tai has trouble sleeping once in a while because of the pain," She answers as she places a saucepan over the stove, turning it on as she did so. "He didn't want sleeping pills, they already prescribed him with the strongest painkillers and various other pills, he didn't want more medicine to drink." Raven throws in the cheesecloth into the pan. "Found some recipes online that would help and this one was the most effective for him."

"But I don't have trouble sleeping," 

"No, you don't," Raven agrees and takes two mugs from the drying rack, one was shaped like a corgi and the other a chicken "But you were sitting out there in the cold for hours, this will warm you up and if it makes you sleepy then good." 

Raven turns off the stove and takes the pan while her other hand grabs the small strainer hanging on a hook on the wall. She pours the milk into the mugs, the strainer catching the cheesecloth. 

The steaming hot mugs were placed in front of Ruby. Raven gathers up the dishes and places them into the sink to be cleaned in the morning most likely. 

Ruby hasn't realized how cold she really was until she held the hot beverage in her hands. It felt like electricity running through her fingers as the cold was slowly replaced by heat. She breathes in the smell of vanilla and lavender, with a hint of sweetness from the honey, she understands how this could help anyone sleep. Raven sat down across from Ruby, a package of oreos set down between them. Ruby wastes no time to take one and munches on it.

Raven chuckles softly at the sight, bringing the mug to her lips, lightly blowing on it. 

"What?" Ruby asks, mouth slightly full. 

"You look like her, kinda act like her a little too" She states, "Summer, I mean." 

"What was she like in college?" 

Raven raises an eyebrow at the question. "Hasn't Tai told you about how she was back in college?" 

"Well yeah," Ruby pulls the corgi mug closer to her, takes a small sip. She pulls back with a pained grimace. "But I want to know what you thought of her then too." 

Raven contemplates the question for a moment, drumming her fingers along the mug. She brings the hot beverage to her lips, not at all bothered by the heat like Ruby. It was a little funny, watching Raven drink from a mug shaped like a chicken, drinking hot milk from it with such a poker face. The mug's black beady eyes staring into Ruby's soul and it was a few seconds later that Raven lowers it back down onto the table. It felt like there were two sets of eyes on Ruby.

"She was annoying, doesn't know the concept of personal space and boundaries and I wanted to punch her face on multiple occasions," Ruby could only blink at the response. She knew Raven was a more or less undesirable back in her youth, that if pushed back hard enough she'll bite your head off. She heard a lot from her uncle and dad of people Raven had no problem hitting. "But she was the only one idiotic enough to be friends with me other than Tai and I've taken that for granted." 

They drink their beverages in silence, occasionally reaching for an oreo. It was when their mugs were empty and the oreos almost gone that Ruby broke the silence between them. 

"Did you hate her?"

Somehow Raven knew what Ruby meant with that question. 

"At times, but not because of what happened after I left," Raven took the mugs as she stood up from her seat. "If it were anyone else I would be furious. Besides…" She place the mugs in the sink and turns to face Ruby, leaning back against the counter with her arms crossed, her expression softens. "She was there for my kid, the least I could do is to be there for hers too." 

A rare sight to behold, a moment where Raven would let down her walls just a little, giving Ruby a glimpse of her more vulnerable and soft side. She wouldn't say she agrees to the decisions that Raven had done in her life, but she understands. People lose their way sometimes and they'll be lucky to find their way back, Raven was one of those lucky people.

"Hey," Raven calls out just as Ruby was about to leave. "Yang and Tai... they're worried about you. I'm- I'm not good at the whole comforting thing, but if you just want someone to just listen or another perspective on things. You can talk to me anytime." 

"Thanks, Rae," Ruby smiles, giggling at the shock expression she got out of Raven. "I'll keep it in mind." 

By the time she was at the stairs, she could still hear Raven from the kitchen, but it was so low that she had to strain her ears to hear what she's saying. 

"A fucking little shit like you, Sum," 

Ruby has to bite her tongue to keep from bursting into laughter and waking up the whole house. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK ART WAS MADE BY THE GREAT AND MAJESTIC ERU!!!! follow them on their tumblr for more wonderful art 
> 
> https://erughostcat.tumblr.com


	9. milkshake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm back from my break!" She announces cheerily.
> 
> "Your break ended fifteen minutes ago," Blake states, leaning into Yang's side, a mug of tea in her hands.
> 
> "It's fine," Nora laughs, scanning the very few customers they have that afternoon. "It's only Weiss."
> 
> "Hey!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, i havent updated in like a while. 
> 
> Life ya know? Very bothersome.
> 
> WHat's a beta?

In Ruby’s honest opinion, she’s a pretty decent parent. She makes sure her son is happy, well fed and healthy. That’s three things that she has focused on the moment he was born. It’s a checklist, whenever he asks for something and sometimes when she can’t buy what he wants he’ll be disappointed. Luckily for Ruby, Ming understands that sometimes she can’t buy a certain toy or shoes for him.

She's not perfect. She never claimed to be the best mom there is, because she knows she won't be able to live up to that title like her mom had.

Now Ruby is facing another one of those instances when her son wants something and she doesn’t know how to lay it down gently to Ming that the mix of black, brown and white, dog beside him cannot be brought back to their apartment. The dog barely looks a year old -in dog years-, in human years he looks about a year or two years old, still a junior.

The mental checklist that Ruby has for him was all there; will it make Ming happy? Of course, there wasn’t a sliver of doubt there. Will Ming be well fed? Even if they were able to keep the dog, Ruby was sure that she would not have any trouble feeding her son. Will it make Ming healthy? Emotionally and mentally, yes, yes it would. Ruby grew up with a dog, knows the outcome of having one. Bringing it to the park would also add to physical fitness there too.

Ruby's gaze shifts towards her sister, who stood beside Ming and the dog. Yang merely shrugs her shoulders and gives her a look that says ‘You're the mom, your word is law’. It was true, but she was hoping that her big sister would have some sort of guidance or advice for her. After all, she was practically Ruby's mom as well.

“Ming, honey,” She sighs deeply, placing her hands on her hips as her head drops. “We- I’m sorry, baby, but we can’t keep him.”

“But why?” He frowns up at her, hands falling by his side.

She can see he’s devastated by her words, looking down at the dog sitting quietly beside him. The dog pants, tongue lolling out as he breathes through his mouth, tail wagging. Ming clenches his fists, his brows furrowed as he bites his lower lip. Ruby kneels down in front of him so that she can maintain eye contact as they talk, she is glad that the very few customers that they have at the moment were not at all bothered by a stray dog being in the establishment and had kept to themselves.

“Our home, the person that owns the building says we can’t,” Ruby explains softly.

“Auntie Esma doesn’t like pets?”

“No, she loves them, but she’s allergic to them,” Ruby shakes her head. He didn’t respond as he set his gaze onto the floor, fists still at his sides. “I’m sorry, Moonpie. After my shift we’ll go to a shelter and hopefully someone else will adopt him, alright?”

“Maybe he can stay with us?” Yang offers, scratching the back of her head. Ming eyes shoot up towards Yang, somewhat hopeful.

“Absolutely not,” Blake says, ears flat against her head. She almost stammers at the way Ming looks at her. “W-We just adopted Shroud and she’s still wary around us and recovering from her injuries.”

“And even if they can,” Ruby says, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We still don’t know if he’s chipped, he might have an owner already.”

Ming refuses to look at any of them, but Ruby can see the tears that wells up in his eyes and it took only one sniff for it to start streaming down his face. His breath hitches as he lets out a sound between a sob and a squeak. It’s not usual for him to cry over something he couldn’t have, clearly he has grown attached to the dog while at the park and had hoped that they would be able to keep him. Honestly, she couldn't blame him, they used to live in a one story house and sometimes looked after Zwei.

The dog whines, standing up, he bumps his head against Ming’s arm and licks the tears from his face. Ruby, for a moment, worries about where the dog has been and what kind of trash he has eaten and basically slathers it onto Ming's face, but the moment Ming has wrapped his arms around the dog she decides to let them be for the moment. Although she did take some tissues nearby and wipes his face clean of the dog spit.

The sound of the bell of the front door rang throughout the diner and Ruby stood to her feet, greeting the newcomer. Weiss walks in, surprisingly enough, with simple light blue jeans and a gray sleeveless turtleneck. Without meaning to, Ruby’s smile widens.

“Hey, kiddo, I have to go back to work, how about you go take a seat somewhere, okay?” Ruby pats Ming’s head.

He nods his head, wiping his eyes with his shoulder. Ruby takes a handkerchief from her pocket and presses it against his face for him to blow his nose. Ming walks towards his usual spot, the booth at the end of the diner, the dog following his lead.

“I feel bad now,” Blake says with a frown and Yang laughs, kissing her cheek.

“Don’t worry about it, we just got Shroud last week and she rarely comes out of her hiding place whenever we’re in the same room as her,” Yang says, wrapping an arm around her waist. “You were right that we can’t keep him.”

“This is going to be a repeat of him asking to join baseball and I told him no,” Ruby whines into her hands.

“Bright side, he isn’t locking himself in his room,”

“We’re not home for him to do that,”

“Exactly,”

Blake drags Yang away towards where Ming was sitting before Ruby had the chance to hit Yang with her tray. The dog beside him on the floor by the booth. It pains her to be a reason her son was sad but they really didn't have a choice in the matter.

Ruby takes a deep breath, runs her hand through her hair and puts on a smile. Ming would face a lot of disappointments in his life, as much as she wished she could prolong that as much as possible when he's young, there are some instances that she is unable to do anything for him.

"What can I get for you today, Weiss?"

The business woman tilts her head at her, her baby blue eyes piercing into her very soul.

"You look...troubled," She says slowly.

"It's nothing, you know how life is," Ruby says waving her hand dismissively. "The usual?"

"No," Weiss shook her head, placing her purse and laptop bag onto the table. "I was thinking that it was a potato soup and grilled cheese sandwich type of day today."

"Alright, anything else to drink?"

Weiss holds her chin as she glances down at the menu, which wasn't really necessary since by now she has already memorized the menu and most times didn't even bother reading over it.

"Surprise me," She replies with a smile.

Strawberry milkshake it is.

When Ruby slams her hand onto the bell and calls up the order that Nora comes out of the kitchen, adjusting her apron and shirt as she did. She didn't want to know what she did for her break. The door hit the wall with a loud bang that startle Weiss from her seat and almost drops her phone if not for Ruby's quick reflexes and caught it before it could go over the edge of the counter.

"I'm back from my break!" She announces cheerily.

"Your break ended fifteen minutes ago," Blake states, leaning into Yang's side, a mug of tea in her hands.

"It's fine," Nora laughs, scanning the very few customers they have that afternoon. "It's only Weiss."

"Hey!"

Ruby chuckles at their antics, already starting on the milkshakes. A strawberry for Weiss and vanilla for Ming. She hopes that it would cheer him up slightly and would accept this apology milkshake. A midst the roar of the blender, she could still hear the bickering between Weiss and Nora, Yang's rambunctious laughter or the yip of the dog once in a while.

It wasn't long until Ruby was humming to herself, dancing slightly to the beat of the current song that was playing throughout the establishment.

One of the cooks places a tray onto the window with a shout of 'order up!'. Nora was there in record time to take, she winks at Weiss as she hands her a bowl of a steaming potato soup. Weiss rolls her eyes, fighting the urge to smile. She hid it well by taking a spoonful of the creamy substance and blowing on it to cool.

"What's up with you, Ming?" Nora asks, not at all bothered by the dog that lay down by his feet.

Ruby didn't need to look to know Ming was explaining their current predicament to Nora. A quick side glance shows Nora nodding along to whatever Ming was saying.

"Ruby, you silly girl!"

"What?"

The loud outburst from Nora has most of the patrons pausing in their meals, Ruby as well stops mid drizzle of the strawberry syrup on whipped cream. Nora has her hands on her hips and looks at Ruby as if she were in trouble. The sight is slightly comical seeing as Ruby is a lot taller that Nora.

"Why won't you let Ming keep the dog?" She throws her hands up into the air, almost exasperated.

"Because our landlord says no pets?"

"There's a simple solution to that,"

"And that is?"

"Move out"

Ruby blinks at her and Nora blinks back, a smile so wide, proud of the answer she has given as if she solved a crime. Although, she does find that making Ming sad is a crime and wouldn't be surprised if she would pretend to arrest Ruby for the sake of making Ming smile.

Reality has other plans though.

"Nora, our apartment's fine, it's close to work and school," Ruby sighs out deeply, finishing up the pink beverage with two strawberry wafer sticks and a cherry on top and gives it to Weiss just as another bell rings along with a call of 'order up!" from the kitchen.

"Move to our apartment building," She sticks her chin up, smirking. "There's an opening and they allow pets"

Ming's eyes lit up at the prospect of living near Nora and Ren, even better, the probability of keeping the dog. He sits up straight in his seat, almost standing on it. One look from Ruby and he sits back down, though his eyes are still set upon her pleadingly, full of hope. She wants the same thing, and she desperately wants to say yes to the idea.

"I don't think I can afford the down payment for that," Ruby sighs, her shoulders dropping.

A scoop of vanilla ice cream went into the blender.

"Oh," Nora deflated, but perks up a second later. "Then we'll break the landlord's legs and get a discount!"

"That sounds counterproductive," Weiss comments.

Shaved ice and milk soon follows.

"You're counterproductive!" Nora exclaims, pointing at Weiss.

Ruby laughs at the way Weiss went cross eyed, staring at the finger that was shoved in front of her face. She swats to the side with a frown and scoffs. When Nora turns her back from her and talks animately with Blake and Yang that Weiss lets out a small smile. Ruby likes how Weiss has found their company enjoyable, probably the reason why she decides to spend some of her time in the diner.

The blender came alive with a deafening roar, everyone didn't want to bother speaking over the noise. Nora goes back to work, Yang and Blake basically cuddling in the booth they're in, talking to Ming in sign language. Weiss stares at her laptop screen, though she looks as if she was not looking directly at it, out of focus.

Making the milkshake took most of Ruby's focus and with Nora back from her break she didn't need to worry about waiting on the other patrons that came in or asking for refills or the bills.

From under the counter, where dozens mugs and tall glasses used for the milkshakes were kept stored. Ruby grabs a bottle of caramel, holding the cup in one hand. She squeezes along the rim of the glass, rotating it in her hand as the caramel slowly goes down the sides. She grabs two saucers, pouring rainbow sprinkles in one and a bit of chocolate syrup in the other and places the cup upside-down onto the chocolate, coating the rim then onto the sprinkles.

Ruby pours the milkshake and leaves an eighth empty for the whipped cream. For the finishing touch, she drizzles caramel and chocolate on top, the light brown color crisscrossing with its darker counterpart. The three strawberry wafer sticks wasn't what she had in mind, it would have been preferable if she had a chocolate or vanilla one but it was the snack she had on hand and the diner doesn't exactly provide for these.

The reaction she got from Ming the moment she places the beverage in front of him was worth losing her snack. His silver eyes went wide, grasping the glass with his hands and looking at the caramel along the sides.

"Like it, kiddo?" Ruby asks, knowing full well what the answer was but wanted to hear it from Ming himself.

"I love it!" He says, hands moving excitedly as he bounces in his seat. "This looks amazing!"

"I didn't know you guys did this kind of thing," Blake says, looking very impressed by her creation. "Are Ren and Nora trying to go along the trends going around?"

"Yeah, Rubes," Yang tried to reach for one of the water sticks, but Ming's tail wrapped around her wrist to stop her. "This looks like something you would find in one of those hole in the wall cafes or something."

His tail wasn't that strong yet, but Yang pretends to struggle against the hold nonetheless just to tease her nephew. Ming lets out a whine, pouting as her hand inches closer to the water. Blake decides to be the hero and elbows her side, chuckling as she tells her to stop teasing Ming.

"Uh, no, they aren't," Ruby rubs the back of her neck, her cheeks tinged a light pink. "I couldn't sleep the other night and watched some YouTube videos and saw something like this."

Yang gasps dramatically, a hand over her heart. Her lilac eyes wide as saucers and full of mirth. "Don't tell me you sacrificed your snack for the day!"

Ruby rolls her eyes at Yang's antics as Blake giggles behind her hand. She'll never let it down of how protective she was of her snacks when they were little, constantly teasing her about it well into adulthood. But it did cause her lips to quirk up into a smile.

"I thought it was new on the menu since Weiss' milkshake is almost exactly the same without the sprinkles on the rim," Blake's words had Ruby stammering on her words, face lit up like Christmas morning.

"I-I just thought that since I have the stuff and all I would you know, practice and see what works well. I mean I didn't want to mess up Ming's dri-"

"So you were just using her as a guinea pig?" Yang cuts her rambling off, sporting the same teasing smile as her wife.

"N-No!" Ruby shouts, letting out an embarrassed 'eep!' when all eyes were on her, especially Weiss. She turns back to her sister and hisses. "That's not what I mean and you know it!"

She storms off back to the counter to clean up the mess she made, Yang's laugh following her throughout the short trip. Nora from across the diner seems to know what they were talking about and winks at her. Ruby stood in front of one of the many fans scattered throughout the diner hoping it would cook her down.

"Ruby, this milkshake is delightful," Weiss commends, looking up from her work to regard her.

"O-Oh, thank you," Ruby stutters, hoping her blush had died down. "It was nothing, just wanted to try something. I'm glad you like it."

"I do, it's not overwhelmingly sweet and I enjoy the simple yet eye catching designs you did," She closes her laptop to give her full attention to Ruby.

The praises kept on coming that Ruby lost hope that the heat on her face would fade away. In fact, it was like shoveling more coal into a furnace.

"I have a company event coming up in a couple of weeks, a get together to build camaraderie within the workers, no titles, no hierarchy, just a day to get to know each department and that they are free to bring their families if they so wish," Weiss pulls out a cheque book and a pen from her purse. Ruby put two and two together, shock settling in once she realizes where this conversation was heading. "That's why I wanted to ask for your services in providing these types of beverages for said event. Preferably similar to what you made for Ming."

"I'll pay you accordingly and will also provide the help you need to accommodate the amount of people attending at the event." Weiss carefully rips out the paper, and slides it over to Ruby across the counter. "This will be half of the payment and the other half will be provided when the event is over."

"Weiss," Ruby breathes out, hands trembling as she picks up the cheque. "That's a lot of zeroes."

"There's going to be a lot of people," She counters.

"There are professionals who are better off doing this than me though," Ruby says, but her eyes can't leave the numbers in her hands.

"Yes well," Weiss' face remains stoic, one that you might see in a business meeting, and yet the hint of a blush on her face was something you wouldn't see. "I'd love for you to take on the job. You may reject it, of course, the decision is entirely up to you."

Ruby finally looks up at Weiss, there wasn't anything that she was doing that was pressuring her to take on the job. It's merely a suggestion, an opportunity presented to her.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Why not?" Weiss flicks her hair over her shoulder. "I like your work ethic and you are also my friend. I think that's enough of a reason to want to hire you for this."

It takes Ruby a moment to consider this. Another moment to look up at Ming, who had the dog's head between his legs and giving him head scratches. Ming laughs at something Yang was saying, handing him a french fry to give to the dog.

Blake catches her staring, head tilted slightly to the side, one ear down to the side of her head and the other standing up. Ruby smiles at her with a small wave, hiding the cheque from view.

"Okay," Ruby says, "Sure, I'll do it."

She swore Weiss' smile could have blinded her.

"Pleasure doing business with you then, Mrs. Wukong," Weiss holds out her hand.

"Pleasures all mine, Ms. Schnee," Ruby shakes her hand and tries not to think how she likes the feeling of having her hand in hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what reference I did in this chapter :) 
> 
> [Spotify Playlist (Work in Progress)](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3br4BrIRCunNWVO2aXoJ8X?si=g2WTNijCQTKBNyACTH0bgQ%5D)


End file.
